Platinum NGK Spark Plugs
 

Hi,

How many miles do NGK platinum spark plugs last and will switching to iridium increase fuel mileage? I have a 97 nissan maxima

Thanks for any replies

Platinum is a poor conductor, but it is hard and does not wear from an electrical arc, so it maintains it's shape, gap and conductivity for 100,00's of miles, where copper plugs conduct really well but only last 15,000 miles, silver is a better conductor then either of them but wears as well and is pricey.

Iridium is a colder spark, ive seen them used to help prevent pre detonation in boosted motors. Platinum lasts a very long time, but it better for the price you pay. Many cars perform as well as they can with the copper plugs, which also happen to be the cheapest. I would look in your owners manual and see what plugs it recommends and use those.

They have done nothing at all for my '93 Civic ( 130.000 + miles ).

They look cool though.


I would try them. Every car is different. Also, I think they have some kind of gaurantee.
( Which I'm too lazy to use .)

Iridium have done nothing for your car?

Platinum
 

As others have already mentioned,the platinum plugs are long-lived,and that's their singular distinction.They obtained cult status in the 1970s when Porsche began using them in the 911.Porsche did not choose them as a "performance" enhancement,but rather to defray costs to customers saddled with very expensive labor charges during tuneups.The platinum plugs lasted many times longer,which kept customers more happy,and driving Porsche cars more longer.-------------- Skip the iridium.I believe you'd be disappointed.------------------ Delco does produce a gap-less,rim-fire type plug which has been scientifically-proven to improve mpg by about 1.5% maximum.------------------ You would have to keep extremely accurate data under constant driving and weather conditions to see benefit from such an addition to your engine.As always,purchase at your own risk.

That is exactly what I learned as well. hot fast for little short stroke n/a gas is the platinum. single electrode only, no crazy stuff. I slapped them in a 23 yr old egr'd to damn near death subaru...(if you use your brain and take deep breathes, you too can realize what egr does....)
and it till has the same bosch platinums, several years. I got confident enough, I even kept used ones.

It depends on the vehicle. Ive talked to many people with GM V6s who have had a lot of misfiring with platinum plugs, including myself. Best thing for these engines is stock AC plugs. I dont know about iridium.

I personally slap NGK plugs in just about everything, in the same heat range as the OEM requires, unless I've done proper experiments to find out that a colder or hotter heat range makes a positive difference.

Bosch multi-electrode plugs are mostly garbage... in just about every case I've seen/heard, they don't perform up to par with most other performance oriented plugs.

I have actually heard people speaking against the use of multi-electrode plugs, saying things like "your 4 cylinder requires and occasional skip in the ignition system to run properly... the multi-electrode plugs don't allow that skip, and they'll make your engine run funny."

That came from a bunch of GM techs... and it's obviously a load of crap, but I still wouldn't use them, for the price vs. benefit.

As far as performance, seems like the multi-tip plugs would shroud the spark, decreasing power rather than increasing it, seems to me.